This is another family-friendly and simple meatless meal. Pair Peanut Butter Spirals with a nice green salad and you are set!
Here’s a tip for thawing the peas –
Put the frozen peas in a colander in the sink. When the pasta is cooked, drain it right over the peas, allowing the hot water to thaw them. Pour out the pasta over the peas, too, and shake the colander to finish draining the pasta.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Peanut Butter Spirals Green * Serves 4
12 ounces uncooked whole-wheat spiral pasta (or brown rice pasta, or other whole grain pasta)
2/3 cup no-salt, no-sugar peanut butter
3/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon raw honey or brown rice syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1-1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
Prepare the pasta according to the package directions; drain. Meanwhile, combine all the remaining ingredients except the peas in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Add the peas and sauce, stirring to combine. Serve warm.
This is the second half of the STOP, DROP & ROLL class, but it stands on its own, too.
In honor of George Washington’s actual birthday, STOP lying to yourself! DROP the pretense that you don’t care about yourself. ROLL out a new perspective on your life and your health.
If you have trouble staying true to your inTENtions, or find yourself constantly rebelling against what you want for yourself, join now and learn to fight self-sabotage.
Olympic athletes have a goal to be faster, higher, and stronger in their sport. As we’ve been watching the Olympics, we’ve noticed a couple of things about the athletes.
First, Olympic athletes have really impressive goals for themselves. They’ve set the bar really high – and they’ve trained for years (years!) to make that goal achievable.
Don’t give up too easily – good things are worth the effort and the time you put into them.
Practice a lot. Then practice more.
Training and conditioning are not optional. Just because you’re not a weight-lifter doesn’t mean you can avoid lifting weights. Speed requires strength and flexibility. Coordination requires strength and flexibility. Aging gracefully and healthfully requires strength and flexibility.
Second, when Olympic athletes fall down, they get back up. Unless something is broken – and they take some really, really scary-hard spills on those mountains and ice rinks – they get up and finish.
You cannot succeed without continuing to try.
There are a lot of falls on the way to success.
Even when you’re at the top of your game, you can make a mistake. No one is perfect and it’s not the end of the world. What happens after that mistake is more important than the mistake itself.
Third, the environment is part of the challenge. If the conditions suck, Olympic athletes don’t let that get in the way – they compete differently.
When you get down that mountain in the shortest amount of time, you have not only beaten the other athletes, you’ve beaten the mountain.
Don’t play the victim. Take responsibility for your decisions. Even though you’d like to blame something external for holding you back, it’s really all on you. Own up to your mistake or bad decision, learn from it, and move on.
Conditions vary so have a backup plan. For everything.
Finally, when the first try doesn’t work out – or sometimes even when it does (we’re looking at you, Shaun White) – Olympic athletes put even more effort into the second try.
Don’t allow one mistake or one failure define who you are. Fight back, because that’s the way to win.
Don’t let one success be the end of the road. Set another goal. Raise the bar. Become better.
Never, ever quit. You set those goals. Maintain your personal integrity and keep striving for them. If you need to set intermediate goals, that’s great – measure your progress, work up to the big goal – but do not quit on yourself.
Many women see their gynecologist as their primary care physician, and never have their hearts checked by internists or cardiologists. (It’s a good idea to have a complete physical by an internist or general practitioner – someone who is familiar with your whole body!)
Get a stress test, an echocardiogram, an EKG, a C-reactive protein test, and whatever else your doctor recommends. Get all your bloodwork done, too, so you can see your cholesterol and triglyceride numbers.
It takes a lot of practice to become an Olympic athlete, and maybe some inborn talent. But you can always work to improve your personal best in whatever activity you choose for fitness.
Do you play basketball? See how many freethrows can you shoot in a minute – then challenge yourself to increase that number.
Do you like to run? Can you add another block or 1/10th of a mile in the same time?
Do you swim? Challenge yourself in your favorite stroke, and your least favorite stroke.
Hula hoop? Add five minutes.
Lift weights? Try adding 10% to the weight, or adding another set.
Keep a record of your fitness accomplishments – just a note on your calendar will remind you that you are an athlete!
Every winter needs a good tomato soup. This one goes together easily with the help of some pantry items, and it’s heart healthy!
If you have extra soup, serve the leftovers on top of cooked brown rice and sprinkle with a little hot sauce for a whole different taste.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Tomato Basil Soup Blue * Serves 6
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and chopped (optional)
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes (try Muir Glen fire-roasted), with liquid
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cups tomato juice (try R.W.Knudsen tomato or very veggie, or low-sodium V8)
1/2 cup fresh basil, packed down, then chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup fresh spinach, packed down, then chopped
pepper to taste
In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute 3-4 minutes, or until onion is soft. Do not let garlic brown. Add tomatoes and their liquid, water, tomato juice and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. Add basil, spinach, corn, and pepper to taste. Cook for 15 minutes.
Ask yourself one question. “Am I the best version of myself?”
~ Marilu Henner, Total Health Makeover
If emotional eating is getting in the way of your success, join the Stop, Drop & Roll class, now in session (don’t worry, Coach Heather will help you catch up).
